


parks and pedro

by thirdwish



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, I just know penelope is a softie with little kids, One Shot, emma playing matchmaker, josie is not having it, pedro being an adorable troublemaker, pure self-indulgent fluff, takes place sometime before episode 1x14, title will make sense soon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 13:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18262319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirdwish/pseuds/thirdwish
Summary: Emma should have known better than to leave Josie and Penelope in charge of taking Pedro out for the weekend. Cue one missing kid, two bickering ex-girlfriends, and a lot of unresolved feelings.





	parks and pedro

 Josie Saltzman did not know what to expect when the school counselor called her to her office on a Sunday morning, but it certainly wasn’t this scene – little Pedro sitting in the armchair, legs dangling off the ground, and Penelope Park, leaning against a bookshelf with an infuriatingly smug look on her face.

 

“You want us to do what?” Josie asked uncertainly.

 

“Pedro’s mom and dad want to spend some time with him over the weekend,” Emma explained, with an air of patience that accompanied years of counselling experience, “and I’m asking if you two would mind taking him to them.”

 

Yes, as a matter of fact, Josie _would_ mind. She did not need another occasion to (yet again) expose her embarrassing lack of self-restraint around her ex-girlfriend.

 

“Why not pick him up from school?”

 

Emma gestured to a letter on her desk. “They said it would be more convenient to fetch him from the central park.” She shrugged. “Parents pay the fees, so if they want something, we do our best to accommodate. It’s a responsibility I’m entrusting both of you.”

 

“But why me?” Josie’s voice turned pleading. “Why _her_?”

 

“Well, Penelope is Pedro’s assigned ‘buddy’, so–”

 

“She’s his _what_?” Now Josie was sure she was hearing things. How can Emma let her obnoxious, selfish, evil ex corrupt the poor boy? “Shouldn’t there be a screening process for this buddy program?”

 

“There is,” the counselor clarified. “Penelope was able to demonstrate motivation and empathy, especially when working with the younger ones, to be selected.”

 

Josie’s jaw dropped. “Motivation and empathy?” she repeated incredulously. “Did I just hear ‘Penelope’ and those two words in the same sentence?”

 

“Excuse you, Pedro _loves_ hanging out with me.” Penelope interjected, and Josie didn’t have to look to know she was sporting her signature smirk. “Don’t you, little guy?” She reached over for a fist bump, which the curly-haired boy reciprocated enthusiastically.

 

“P tutors me every Friday,” he piped up. “She helped me go from a B to an A minus in Charms!”

 

“That’s right, kiddo, you tell ‘em,” Penelope beamed with pride and crossed her arms. There it was, that stupid, attractive smirk.

 

Emma sighed, looking from Penelope’s satisfied expression to Josie’s indignant one.

 

“From what you’ve both shared with me during your sessions…which will remain completely confidential, of course,” she added as they opened their mouths to protest, “I think this is a good opportunity for you two to spend some time together and sort out your differences.” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “Given recent events, there is evidently still some unresolved tension.”

 

Josie groaned at the thought of the bold antics her delirious persona had gotten up to before the talent show. “Does everyone know about that?”

 

“I’m the guidance counselor, it’s my job to know things.”

 

“It was all the parasite,” Josie justified earnestly, though she wasn’t fully convinced herself. “You’d understand if you were infected, it messes with your mind–”

 

“I understand a lot better than you think, Josie,” the older woman muttered darkly, then changed the subject.

 

“Pedro’s parents have met both of you before, so they trust you. I would go myself, but I have some urgent matters to sort out.” Emma began sifting through a stack of files on her desk, and Josie suddenly felt bad for how overworked she was. Her father should really consider hiring more faculty members. “Plus, Dorian left, and Ric is away as usual…”

 

“Say no more,” Penelope grinned, looking way too pleased at this turn of events, “I’m happy to help.”

 

Josie wanted to dig a hole and jump in. She couldn’t refuse in front of precious, innocent Pedro, and she’d rather set herself on fire than admit that the real reason she couldn’t stand to be around Penelope was that she was afraid of giving in to her emotions again.

 

“…me too,” she conceded finally.

 

Emma sighed again, this time in relief. “Thank you, girls, you’re doing me a huge favor.” She put a hand on Josie’s shoulder as the trio headed out the door. “I know I can count on you to be the sensible one.”

 

Josie returned her smile weakly.

 

She used to think so too, but nowadays, she wasn’t quite sure.

 

*

 

“After we drop the kid off, wanna grab some ice cream or see a movie?” Penelope had the nerve to suggest, as they strode towards one of the school vans. Pedro followed behind them in his bowtie and button-up shirt, duffel bag in tow.

 

It was the lingering effects of the parasite, surely, that made Josie even consider saying yes.

 

She steeled herself and threw Penelope a withering glare. “Just because a magical slug invaded my brain and made me stop thinking logically for one day, does not mean I am open to going on a date with you.”

 

A flash of disappointment crossed Penelope’s face, but it was gone as soon as it came.

 

“What’s in the bag, Pedro?” Josie asked curiously as he hopped into the backseat.

 

The boy shook his head and tightened his grip on the handle. “Nothing important.”

 

“Okay, Mr. Mysterious,” Penelope said. She rummaged through the glove compartment before emerging with a barf bag, then handed it to Josie without looking at her, probably still stung by the earlier rejection. “It’s a not a long drive, but you know. Just in case.”

 

Josie blinked, touched by the fact that Penelope still remembered such a small detail, even if it happened to be her susceptibility to motion sickness. It was one of her favorite sides of Penelope; behind the head-bitch-in-charge attitude was a girl who used to care enough to pay attention to the little things, but she must have stopped caring or she wouldn’t have dumped her, right?

 

It was all so confusing.

 

Josie wished her ex-girlfriend would stop making her _feel things_ , so she could wrap her head around whatever was going on between them.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the engine rumbling to life as Penelope turned the ignition.  “Seatbelt on?”

 

“Aye, aye, captain!” Pedro saluted in the rearview mirror.

 

The journey was less than twenty minutes, but they were already bickering while the vehicle pulled into the parking lot.

 

Josie couldn’t help throwing a quick insult as she stepped out of the van. “Gosh, I forgot you’re _such_ an amazing driver.”

 

“Get that sarcasm out of your voice,” Penelope shot back.

 

“Who even holds the steering wheel like that?”

 

“ _I_ thought it was a rather smooth journey,” Penelope defended, “apart from that one pothole we hit along the way, which was hardly my fault. Right, Pedro? Ped– shoot, where did he go?”

 

Josie whipped around to look. The passenger door hung open, backseat empty, duffel bag gone, boy nowhere to be seen. “Oh no,” she gasped, “oh no, oh no, where is he?”

 

She scanned their surroundings, trying to tamp down the panic rising in her chest. Mystic Falls central park was packed with people at this time of day, with joggers, dog-walkers, couples on dates, and hordes of excitable children milling about.

 

“I cannot believe we let him get kidnapped.”

 

The last time Josie saw Penelope this worried was when she was pulling her out of the dirt on the night of her birthday.

 

“What are we going to tell his parents?”

 

“I saw a documentary about this once–”

 

“Stop with the abduction theories, Penelope,” Josie said firmly. She wouldn’t even entertain the horrific idea. “He can’t have gone far, we can do a spell that Hope taught me.”

 

“What kind of spell?”

 

“It’s like a full-immersion video chat,” Josie explained, “but we need something that belongs to Pedro.”

 

Penelope bit her bottom lip, then her eyes widened. She knelt and picked up a striped bowtie lying in the grass. “Something like this?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Hurry up and do it then.” She extended her hands, palms upward. Josie tried not to let her mind drift to all the different ways Penelope had let her siphon her back when they were still together.

 

 _Focus, Jo_ , she berated herself. _Now is really not the time to be thinking about that_.

 

She closed her eyes, took Penelope’s hands in her own, and recited the spell as she remembered it. Nothing happened at first, then all of a sudden, Josie found herself standing in a field, watching as Pedro pulled a mini bat out of his bag and ran over to join his friends.

 

Apparently, she wasn’t as good at holding the spell as Hope was, because the vision flickered, then disappeared. Or maybe she was just distracted because any form of contact with Penelope made her heart want to hammer out of her ribcage. But a few seconds was enough.

 

“What? What did you see?”

 

“He’s…going to play baseball?”

 

“Oh, thank God,” Penelope exhaled. “Must be over there.” She jerked her head towards the far end of the park where a little league baseball game was underway.

 

“Great! Come on,” Josie made to let go, but instead, Penelope clasped their hands together. It should be wrong how it felt so right that the other girl’s fingers fit perfectly in the spaces between hers.

 

“Hey, now that we know Pedro is fine, I just want to say…” Penelope started, then stopped, then tried again. “About that note I gave you…”

 

Josie thought about the note, tucked away in her drawer back in her room. It was Lizzie’s advice; if she put it out of sight, she wouldn’t feel tempted to open it.

 

“I’ll read it when I feel like it,” Josie said, as dismissively as she could. “Anything else?”

 

“Yeah, one more thing.”

 

Penelope was staring at her, fierce conviction blazing behind her eyes that made Josie’s breath catch in her throat. Months had passed since the breakup and she had yet to find someone – not her father, not her sister, not any of her past crushes – who looked at her as intently as Penelope Park did.

 

“It wasn’t all the parasite for me.”

 

Josie didn’t know how to respond. Penelope had this special way of making her brain short-circuit when she needed it most. It was baffling how the girl was so cryptic and scheming and roundabout in everything else she did, but when it came to Josie, she was always willing to wear her heart on her sleeve.

 

Electricity crackled between them, and Josie felt her body heat up in a way that had nothing to do with siphoning. Desire stirred in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know who leaned in first, but before she knew it, her lips were on Penelope’s, moving of their own accord. Soft hands tugged her closer, letting Josie sink instinctively into familiar curves.

 

Penelope maneuvered them expertly so that her left hand rested securely on the small of Josie’s back while her right reached up to thread through her hair, tongue dipping into Josie’s mouth. She tasted like bubblegum and broken promises.

 

What was the saying – fool me once, fool me twice, fool me three times? But something felt different. Penelope picked up the pace, kissing her with feverish urgency, as if she was trying to sear this moment into her memory. And Josie, for all her contradictions, deepened the kiss, pressing against her with such fervor that the force backed them into the parked van.

 

As they collided into the vehicle, the anti-theft siren went off, blaring loudly, causing them to jump apart. Penelope fumbled for the keys and reached for the lock to disable the alarm. Josie was sure they both looked as dazed as she felt, lips slightly parted, breathing heavily.

 

But a split second later, Penelope regained her composure.

 

“Let’s go get Pedro,” she said shortly, turning towards the direction of the playing field.

 

Still reeling, Josie stayed rooted to the spot, watching Penelope walk away, as if she hadn’t just kissed her like it was their last time.

 

*

 

The atmosphere around the ballpark was buzzing with activity, sounds in the air filled with organizers trying to rally the players and parents giving last-minute ‘no matter what happens, you’re a winner’ pep talks.

 

Penelope peered through the crowd. “Do you see him?”

 

Josie struggled to distinguish the children tottering about in identical caps and jerseys, but then her gaze chanced upon a familiar mop of black hair. “There!”

 

She approached the edge of the field and waved her arms frantically in an attempt to catch his attention. “Pedro!”

 

“Hey, you two! Spectators aren’t supposed to cross this line,” a stern-looking volunteer called out.

 

“We just want to talk to that kid over there.” Penelope pointed at Pedro, who was practicing his swings, blissfully unaware of the stress he had caused.  

 

“You can’t,” the man declared firmly, “not unless you’re his official guardian. Safety matters.” He cocked his head at them. “Who is he to you?”

 

“He’s our, uh–”

 

“Our adopted son!” Josie blurted out.

 

The man’s eyebrows shot up, disappearing under his hat. “Bit young, aren’t you?”

 

“Oh, JoJo and I get that a lot,” Penelope intervened smoothly, switching on her charisma.

 

He didn’t look thoroughly convinced. “Got any proof?”

 

Josie frowned. “What, you think we carry the adoption papers arou–”

 

“Actually, we do.” Penelope reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a piece of paper. Josie gaped at her in disbelief.

 

The volunteer inspected the document briefly, then handed it back, seemingly reassured. “Okay, go ahead,” he waved them in, “make it quick, the game is about to start.”

 

“Thanks,” Penelope gave him a charming smile, but Josie noticed how the paper magically wiped itself blank as she folded it and put it away.

 

“Pen, that was straight up fraud,” Josie hissed once he was out of earshot.

 

“Wow, sorry I had to come up with something, you’re the one who said he’s our adopted son!”

 

“I panicked, okay?”

 

Pedro noticed them coming over and stopped mid-swing, looking like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Penelope crouched so she was at eye level with the young boy. “Pedro, you lied to us?”

 

“Do you know how worried we were?” Josie fretted.

 

Pedro hung his head in shame. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” he mumbled, “I just wanted to get out of school for a bit.”

 

“Wait, where did you learn the spell to fake that letter from your parents?” Josie asked.

 

Then it clicked. Penelope had the decency to look guilty.

 

“ _This_ is what you teach him during your so-called tutor sessions?”

 

“Please don’t get mad at P,” Pedro tugged on Josie’s sleeve apologetically. “She told me to only use it in emergencies.”

 

“Which part of this is an emergency?” Josie could see Penelope beginning to soften at Pedro’s adorable pout, but she wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easy.

 

“Baseball is important to me,” he begged, “and we don’t have a junior team at Salvatore! Can you please, pretty please let me finish the game?”

 

“Fine,” Josie relented, causing Pedro to whoop in excitement, “but you have to promise not to do this again.”

 

“Yes ma’am, I promise!”

 

Penelope grinned and rumpled his hair affectionately. “Go out there and make me proud, young man.” She paused, then added, “And remember, no matter what happens, you’re a winner.”

 

*

 

Halfway through the game, and Penelope was already showing more interest in children’s baseball than she had ever demonstrated at any school sporting event. Josie hid a smile as she pumped her fist every time Pedro did anything remotely successful on the field.

 

“That’s my son!” Penelope yelled, nearly knocking the glasses off an unsuspecting woman next to them. Josie giggled, wishing they could always be this carefree. It reminded her of simpler times, before everything fell apart.

 

If she could, she would freeze time and capture this moment; the sunlight bouncing off Penelope’s cheekbones, framing her face in the most genuine smile Josie had seen her wear in ages.

 

At some point, a stranger accidentally bumped into Josie from behind, causing her to stumble. Penelope automatically wrapped a protective arm around her waist, and it really, _really_ shouldn’t make sense to feel so safe in the arms of the girl who had hurt her the most.

 

Josie swallowed thickly, realizing that this was the closest they would ever get to enjoying each other’s company again, bodies brushing comfortingly as bystanders jostled around them. She didn’t want this fantasy to end, didn’t want to go back to reality, because reality meant hating Penelope Park (or at least, the version of her that broke her heart) and that was so goddamn difficult to do.

 

Hesitant, Josie put her hand on her arm. Penelope looked down at it in surprise.

 

“Look, Pen, I’m sorry about the mean stuff I said this morning. Pedro clearly adores you, and I…I guess I never knew how much you liked kids.”

 

“It’s fine, we didn’t really talk about that when we were together.” The past tense made her heart ache all over again.

 

“And now there’s no reason to,” Josie said quickly, “but _hypothetically_ , how…how many kids do you think you’d want?”

 

Penelope was about to answer when a hush fell over the crowd, chatter replaced by bristling anticipation. They both looked out onto the field in time to see Pedro step up to the plate, ready take on the game-decider.

 

The opposing team’s pitcher raised the ball behind his head and released it. There was a crack as the bat made contact, sending the ball hurtling through the air. Pedro sprinted, rounding the bases as the ball soared over the outfield.

 

Applause erupted, and his teammates gathered around him, cheering and patting him on the back, but Pedro broke free instead and ran towards them, curly hair whipping in the breeze.

 

“Did you see that? P, did you see me hit a home run?” Pedro leapt into Penelope’s open arms excitedly.

 

“You bet I did!” She lifted him off the ground and swung him around in celebration. “Didn’t understand most of it, but I know you were amazing.”

 

Josie reached over to wipe a smudge of dirt off the little boy’s cheek. “Yeah, you were the best batter out there, Pedro.”

 

“Listen, we’ll tell Dr. Saltzman to start a junior baseball team at Salvatore. Jo’s on the honor council, with her position of power, she can make anything happen.”

 

“That’s not how a fair vote works,” Josie began, then changed her mind. “Actually, you know what? I’ll see what I can do.”

 

“For real?” Pedro exclaimed. “Thank you, thank you! You guys are the best.” He paused, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m really sorry for lying and all that…but since we’re already out here, can you take me for some ice cream?”

 

Penelope burst into laughter. Josie forgot how much she loved the sound.

 

“Think we could all do with some ice cream,” Penelope winked at Pedro and he nodded vigorously in support. They both turned to wait for her response.

 

Josie smiled as she looked from a pair of hopeful brown eyes to hopeful green ones.

 

“Sure, we can even watch a movie after that.”

**Author's Note:**

> was supposed to be studying for finals but this happened. my headcanon is that penelope is secretly great with kids and no one can change my mind!!


End file.
